


A Fish Out of Water

by Foxberry



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: College AU, F/M, artist!jean, boa - Freeform, nb!Mikasa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-09
Updated: 2015-09-09
Packaged: 2018-04-19 22:32:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4763501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foxberry/pseuds/Foxberry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mikasa finds themself out of place as Jean's muse, but he tries his best to make them comfortable.</p><p>This fit with <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/users/volti/pseuds/volti">volti</a>'s <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/4269561/chapters/9667380">Bachelor of Arts</a> college AU fic so well that I made this a dedication drabble with their permission.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Fish Out of Water

**Author's Note:**

  * For [volti](https://archiveofourown.org/users/volti/gifts).



> This is the first of thirty prompts from my personal phrase prompt challenge. 
> 
> Prompt #1: A fish out of water - a person in a completely unsuitable environment or situation

Mikasa’s fingers shook, arms resting uneasy on the edge of the pristine white love-seat. Its leather was soft to their touch and somewhat comforting as Jean’s eyes scanned over them again. They were unsure as to whether they should look up or down or meet his eyes with theirs and let him see how out of place they felt before him. A simple silk robe caressed their shoulders, falling down just enough to expose the sheen of their bra strap to the afternoon sun shining through the window.

It was so unlike them to sit so still for so long and not want to hide, but somewhere in the echo of their heartbeat they wished to stay. If only they could stay still long enough for him to sketch them, for his fingers to smudge with charcoal, as they tried hard to appear as casual and as natural as he wanted. Maybe if enough time passed they could examine him in the same way he studied their form.

He spoke little as he drew, humming between thoughts and changing the angles of his head. Somehow adjusting himself seemed to help his point of view, and each time he moved they felt just that little bit more exposed. Bare shoulders, arms and legs were all he could see, but the gaze that watched them so keenly sent a warmth up to tint their cheeks and a shiver through their body.

“Is it always this…” Mikasa started, disrupting their pose to ease the ache in their outstretched legs. Trying so hard to appear artistically interesting had begun to take a toll on their body. Jean didn’t seem concerned by their movement however and peered up from his paper with raised eyebrows and parted lips. She gulped at his eagerness for their words and continued in a whisper, “Intimate?”

Jean stared for a moment and their breath caught in their throat, realising that staying in a pose was safer than revealing themself in movement. He laughed with a huff of air, eyes darting down to the floor as a thoughtful smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “Drawing?” When he peered back up, he rubbed his chin and shook his head, tilting it to focus his stare, unaware of how it set their heart racing. “I guess watching someone for so long, studying them, can feel that way.”

Hands dropping to his lap, he left trails of charcoal across his face, smudged marks of an artist deep in thought. Mikasa let out a soft chuckle and immediately covered their mouth. “You’ve got a little something on your face…” Mikasa blurted from behind their fingers.

Jean’s jaw clenched, fingers darting to brushing the marks off his face but only made them worse. “Is this better?” He wiped his hands on his jeans, trying to remove the trace of charcoal behind, but the stubborn blacks and greys only marked his skin more. Mikasa began to doubt he was attempting to clean his face at all with that mild smirk growing on his face at his own predicament. 

Brushing their hair back with steady fingers, they approached him, grabbing their scarf along the way. “You’re not really trying, are you?” they sighed as they wiped away the charcoal trails that spread from his cheek to his neck. Jean somehow managed to be both endearing and frustrating at once and it both amused and confounded them. Such thoughts left them still when they was done, their robe slipping further down their arm.

Clenched teeth and a clicking tongue signalled their disapproval at him but Jean simply met them with a hum and a question, “Nervous?”

Their hands dropped, scarf placed gently aside as if forgotten. “No…” Mikasa felt the colour in their face drain. Only moments before they had been shaking, struggling to maintain their composure under his gaze. Now, barely an inch from his face, which they had just cleaned with their scarf, they realised just how much more intimate their actions had been.

Jean did not look the least bit concerned or surprised, smiling reassuring up at them as they backed away. “Good.” He picked up his charcoal again with a smirk. “It worked then.”

Their eyelids blinked rapidly, body retreating back to the comfort of leather, their eyes still locked with Jean’s. He appeared so calm, so composed, like he should be the model not the artist. “Shall we continue? Your nerves seem to be mostly gone now.” His voice held just a small quiver, but Mikasa couldn’t tell whether it was impatience, excitement, or nerves like theirs. They hoped it was the later and even more so that they were the cause.

Mikasa fell down the leather cushion of the love-seat with a soft flop. Their arm rested back atop the edge with more conviction, more purpose. Jean wasn’t wrong. The shake in their hands was gone. He had a way of being right in moments like these. Even when they felt out of their element, a fish out of water, he had a way of helping their swim. Even if he looked the fool in the process.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this and want to share it on Tumblr, you can find the Tumblr post [here](http://foxberryblue.tumblr.com/post/128712410922/a-fish-out-of-water).
> 
> I would love to hear your feedback here or you can also find me on [Tumblr](https://foxberryblue.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](http://twitter.com/foxberryblue) or on my writing only blog [Foxberry Writes](http://foxberrywrites.tumblr.com/).


End file.
